In the midst of a family tragedy, director Zack Snyder (“Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice”) was forced to step down from his position during post-production of 2017’s “Justice League.” Following the hiring of Joss Whedon (“The Avengers”) in his stead, a series of script rewrites and reshoots occurred, thereby altering the film’s tone and aspects of its story, while still containing elements contributed by Snyder. As a result, the final product felt to be a clumsy assembly of two incomplete, clashing visions.

Following the release of “Justice League,” fans began calling for a cut of the film to be released which would adhere to Snyder’s original vision, believing that it would do more justice to the story and characters. Thanks to their efforts, Warner Bros. greenlit the release of a director’s cut, allowing Snyder to return to the studio to re-edit and reshoot the film so it would better reflect his intended product. Thus, “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” came into fruition, showcasing a well-realized story that makes for a much more compelling and thoughtful version of the one which it updates.

One of the main criticisms of the original “Justice League” was the way in which it handled some of its characters. More specifically, despite their supposed importance to the narrative, Cyborg (Ray Fisher, “True Detective”) and Steppenwolf (Ciarán Hinds, “Frozen”) were poorly-developed and received less focus in comparison to the film’s other main characters. As such, it was a delight to see the “Snyder Cut” address these issues, giving these characters expanded screen time, motivations and backstories. In the process, the film still took ample time to focus on its other characters, thereby making them all feel well-rounded and relevant in the story. 

The “Snyder Cut” also makes a significant improvement regarding the original “Justice League’s” world-building. At the time of the latter’s release, a majority of its heroes had yet to receive their own solo films in the DC Extended Universe. Consequently, it was up to the film to establish these characters and its worlds, and it did so in a rather brief and unsatisfactory fashion. Using its elongated runtime to its advantage, the “Snyder Cut” provides a much-needed emphasis on these unexplored worlds and the characters who live within them. Rather than being shoehorned into the narrative, these new additions were implemented in a way which organically progresses the plot and answers questions that were previously left unresolved, thereby making them feel like crucial story elements rather than unnecessary additions.

For some fans, a major point of contention has been its runtime, which runs slightly over four hours. Though this may find it strenuous to dedicate so much time to viewing one film, the “Snyder Cut” provides plenty of reasons to justify watching it. In total, the film is divided into seven labeled parts, so it is easy to watch it in chunks rather than all at once. Despite its length, the film offers enough both visually and narratively to keep the viewer occupied at all times.

Despite all of its pros, the “Snyder Cut” possesses one major con. Although it is chock-full of reveals that hint toward future films, it was the original film which shaped the future of the franchise. Films featuring its characters have since been released, meaning that the direction the “Snyder Cut” meant for them to take is no longer relevant to what is now considered to be canon. Unfortunately, this means the “Snyder Cut” has no purpose in the franchise other than to show what could have been. Regardless, it is still a fun, action-packed film which should please superhero fans, alike.

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